Friday was our free day to roam New York. Four of our group members had never been to NYC, so we had to do as much touristy stuff as we could in a day. We started off at 9:00 am and took the NJ Transit to Penn Station ($5.00 o/w), and from there, we connected to 5th Avenue toward Rockefeller Center.
Take track 1 to New York’s Penn Station
Here’s our train!
While walking toward Rockefeller Center, we made a pit stop to get something to eat. Some of us went to Metro Cafe, while some went to McDonalds or Pret a Manger. We ended up meeting at the NHL Store before heading to Rockefeller Center.
We finally made our way to Rockefeller Center, to the iconic ice rink.
No one on the ice!
Obligatory selfie
From Rockefeller, we made our way to Times Square. Once at Times Square, we let everyone venture on their own until 2:30 pm.
Leaving Rockefeller Center area toward Times Square
Times Square!
Group photo on the red steps
Another selfie
Stephen taking my photo from the red steps
While the others were venturing on their own, Stephen and I roamed the area and came across these things:
Guy Fieri’s restaurant
Didn’t realize this place closed
Fake Rockettes doing a promotional shoot
Promotional shoot of Chicago
We also checked out the newest food hall: City Kitchen.
It was around 2:30 and I was cold, tired, and hungry. I wanted to have a snack since we were planning on a late dinner. A few of the group members went looking for Build A Bear, while the rest of us went to Juniors Cheesecake located off Broadway. The first time I had a Junior’s cheesecake was back in December when I came here with my parents and Stephen.
Here’s what we all ordered:
Located at 1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
NYC size cup of joe
Strawberry cheesecake
Strawberry shortcake
Carrot cake cheesecake
Blueberry cheesecake
Original cheesecake
Raspberry swirl
Chocolate swirl
They also serve corned beef (but not piled high like a real NYC deli)
Matzoh chicken noodle soup
After our snack break at Junior’s, we decided to head over to the world famous Macy’s. We made our way from Bryant Park, the New York City library, and up 5th Avenue.
Bryant Park
NY City Library
Empire State Building
View of the Empire State Building
Macy’s!
While the group went to Macy’s, Stephen and I went to the Flatiron
district so I could get my birthday gift, a Kate Spade wallet. We also ended up finding EATaly, where we had the group come over and join us for dinner.
My sister and brother in law ate here when they were in NYC. They raved about the authenticity of the Italian food, we just had to try it. So, for my birthday, we came here for dinner. The place is divided into sections, such as a meat section, fish section, pasta/ pizza section, dessert, coffee, and even a market section.
I figured that with my large group, pizza and pasta would be best. The hostess said it would be an hour wait, and she would text me when our table was ready. Our table ended up being in a narrow room upstairs, which accommodated the 14 of us. I found the pasta to be much better than the pizza, and really enjoyed the evening.
House bread
Heading back to Newark via Penn Station/ MSG
View of the Empire State Building after leaving EATaly
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